Lauren Carter is the award-winning author of five books, including her latest, the short story collection Places Like These, described as "an unforgettable read" by writer Hollay Ghadery and recommended by The Globe and Mail, CBC Books, and 49th Shelf. This Has Nothing To Do With You, her last novel, won the Margaret Laurence Award for Fiction in 2020 when she was also named Manitoba’s Most Promising Writer, while her debut novel, Swarm, appeared on CBC’s Canada Reads longlist, and was praised by Booklist as “imbued with dark lyricism and a disturbingly credible view of the end of the world…A somberly melodic, literary foray.” She’s also published two poetry collections-- Lichen Bright (longlisted for the ReLit award) and Following Sea--and her stories and poetry have appeared in anthologies including the forthcoming What Draws Us Near (Little Ghosts Books), Best Canadian Stories, and Voicing Suicide. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Guelph and works as a freelance editor while mentoring writers, teaching workshops, and running writing retreats from her home on Treaty One territory within the homeland of the Metis Nation, just outside of Winnipeg.